The US Administration has announced a ban on all new oil and gas exploration in a large area of northern Alaska in response to the “climate crisis”. The new decision was announced five months after the president of the United States, Joe Biden, approved an oil and gas project in the same region.
The area in question corresponds to four million hectares, comparable to the size of Denmark, and is located within the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPR-A)., a vital area for populations of brown bears, polar bears, caribou and hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. “Alaska is home to many of America’s greatest natural wonders,” Joe Biden said. “As the climate crisis warms the Arctic – twice as fast as the rest of the planet – we have a responsibility to protect these regions for centuries to come”Biden added.
The government department responsible for the federal territories of the United States added that had canceled seven exploration permits authorized by President Donald Trump in another protected area in northern Alaska.
In March, the Administration was harshly criticized by environmentalists after the decision to authorize a vast oil project by the American giant ConocoPhillips in this very national oil reserve. Even so, the decision announced on Wednesday does not call into question this project, known as Willow and authorized during the term of former President Donald Trump. Reduced to three drilling zones of the five initially requested by the company, it will cost between 8,000 and 10,000 million dollars and should cause an indirect emission of the equivalent of 239 million tons of CO2. At the time, environmental groups condemned the move as a disaster for the climate, with some seeing Wednesday’s announcement as an attempt by the Biden Administration to “make up for lost time.”
The new plan also prohibits drilling in an area of more than one million hectares in the Beaufort Sea, north of the north coast of Alaska, and provides assistance to local populations.
These measures “are illegal, thoughtless, defy common sense and are the latest proof of the incoherence of President Biden’s energy policy,” criticized the Republican senator from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, in a statement. denouncing “the lack of consultation with local communities.” Likewise, Democrat Mary Peltola, who represents Alaska in the House of Representatives, said she was “deeply frustrated” and criticized the Biden administration for not listening to the demands of the public.
Joe Biden also faced opposition from influential members of local communities, who lamented the economic impact of the new measures.
“Our community has fought hard to get the coastal plain open to oil and gas rentals,” said Annie Tikluk, mayor of the city of Kaktovik, referring to the seven licenses granted. “Our community has been left behind economically. We are constantly looking for economic opportunities to ensure our long-term survival,” she added.
Observers, according to Agence France Presse, affirm that Biden wants to recover his reputation on climate issues. During the 2020 presidential election campaign, Biden promised to freeze oil exploration licenses, a promise that has not been kept. On the other hand, the trials in states with a majority of the Republican Party have limited the leeway of the White House in these matters.
Last year, The Democratic president also pushed through a $400 billion “climate investment” plan.
According to a study published in July in the journal Science, the measures could reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 43% to 48% by 2035, compared with 2005 levels, but they do not allow the United States to cut them in half. emissions by the end of the decade.
Source: Observadora
